It is common knowledge that the risk of addiction concerns all age groups and classes of society and does not stop at national borders. Unfortunately, it is not yet common practice for experts in the field of addiction prevention to cooperate and learn from each other on the European level.
Against this background, the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe, (LWL), Koordinationsstelle Sucht in cooperation with the euro net, European network for practical approaches in addiction prevention and Hessische Landesstelle für Suchtfragen e. V. (HLS) is organizing a „European Workshop of Addiction Prevention” which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health.
The main focus of the workshop will be a European exchange of information, initiatives and effective projects. Key topic will be addiction prevention for and together with the target group of 18- to 25-year-olds.
For this target group a particularly high consumption of substances is being recorded which can lead to risky consumption, substance abuse or addiction. According to recent research findings, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis are the main substances consumed by this target group. Additionally, poly drug use and behavior-related addictions, e.g. internet and media addiction have to be taken into account.
Early interventions, custom-made programs, structural networking and a balanced policy-mix can be helpful when approaching this issue. Reaching the target group of young adults between 18 and 25 years is a particular challenge, especially considering those in disadvantaged living situations. Seeing that this age group shows extremely high consumption rates, there is an urgent need for action.
In order to promote cooperation and exchange of experiences and knowledge on the European level, results of effective, successful and (preferably) evaluated projects from various European countries as well as practical experiences will be shared and discussed at the “European Workshop of Addiction Prevention”.
We are very happy to be able to make this unique European exchange in the field of addiction prevention possible.